Employee’s Careful Attention Saves a Man

Employees of the Week: Barbara Turner and Raul Aguirre

November 22, 2013

Albuquerque- Today Mayor Richard J. Berry honored two ABQ RIDE employees that saved a rider’s life. Raul Aguirre and Barbara Turner were instrumental in making sure that Ronald (Ronnie) Davidson’s life was well looked after when he suffered a seizure.

In the early evening hours of September 19, 2013, Ronnie Davidson, a frequent rider with Albuquerque Sun Van, was taken to a local restaurant. But when driver, Raul Aguirre picked Davidson up to take him back home, he could tell that something was not right. Davidson appeared confused, didn’t recognize where he was and didn’t respond to his name or Aguirre’s questions. Finding Davidson’s behavior concerning, when the two men arrived at Davidson’s apartment, Aguirre remembered that he had heard Davidson speak of recently suffering from a stroke. Aguirre then contacted Barbara Turner, an ABQ RIDE dispatcher, to get help for Mr. Davidson.

Turner tried to call the emergency contact numbers on file for Mr. Davidson, but had no success getting through to any of the contacts. She then instructed Aguirre to knock on Mr. Davidson’s apartment door hoping someone would be there. After no answer from inside, Turner called 911. Within minutes an ambulance came and transported Mr. Davidson to the hospital. It was determined that Mr. Davidson had suffered a seizure while at dinner.

If not for Raul Aguirre and Barbara Turner, Ronnie Davidson’s life could have been in jeopardy. It was their attention to detail, proper execution of protocol, and extra care and concern that helped save Mr. Davidson’s life. Thanks to these ABQ RIDE employees Mr. Davidson is well again and back to using the City of Albuquerque’s Sun Van service.

Mr. Davidson is not just a Sun Van rider, he also is somewhat of a local icon, and may be recognizable to local baseball fans. He has been a fixture at Dukes and Isotopes games for many seasons, mostly sitting along the 3rd base line. He’s also known for his trademark of sorts- a small baseball bat that has a Bugs Bunny doll on it and that doll is usually dressed up in an Isotopes uniform. During the 7th inning stretch, when the P.A. system starts blaring the song “Y.M.C.A.” (after the singing of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”), Davidson becomes an attraction when he starts waving the bat and Bugs Bunny doll up and down. He’s done this for years…at literally hundreds of games. So our ABQ RIDE employees not only helped save an individual’s life, they also in a roundabout way helped preserved an Albuquerque baseball tradition.